Articles

Guests seated to receive tea (print by Yōshū Chikanobu) Preparing tea may seem like a simple act, yet in Japan it has evolved into a cultural practice shaped by centuries of history, philosophy, and artistic refinement. This tradition is known as chadō (茶道), the Way of Tea. Also sometimes […]

You have made your way into the world of Japanese tea. You can tell green tea from black tea, maybe you even know what aracha is, and you’re ready to impress your fellow tea enthusiasts with your growing knowledge. Then, just as the conversation begins, you find yourself surrounded by […]

If you are interested in Japanese green tea, chances are you have already come across the iconic Japanese teapot known as the kyūsu (急須). Its side handle and compact shape make it instantly recognisable, but this teapot is much more than a beautiful object. It has been carefully designed to brew […]

Japan’s Quest for Black Tea In 1874, Japanese authorities invited two Chinese tea experts to teach black tea processing techniques to Japanese farmers. The produced teas were considered a bit of a failure and it was decided that more detailed knowledge was necessary to produce a black tea […]

It comes as no surprise to many that when you leaf through books on Japanese tea, you more often than not encounter only mention of green teas: sencha, matcha, bancha, gyokuro, etc. We mostly associate Japan with green teas. What is not such common knowledge, is that Japan actually has quite a […]

On July 8th, we had the pleasure of hosting a morning tea tasting event at Yamada Kodomo-en (Yamada pre-school) in Higashisonogi for the third consecutive year. This annual event is organised for families who are considering enrolling their children at the pre-school the following year. While […]

What is Tamaryoku Funmatcha? Tamaryoku Funmatcha (玉緑・粉末茶) is our name for a new style of Japanese tea powder, made by finely grinding high-grade shaded tamaryokucha rather than traditional tencha. Unlike matcha, which is traditionally made exclusively from tencha leaves grown and […]

There is no better way to discover Japanese tea than by experiencing it where it is grown. This week, we had the pleasure of welcoming a wonderful group of guests from Italy for a three-day tea & pottery journey through Nagasaki (and Saga). We welcomed the wonderful group in Higashisonogi on […]

Ikeda Chaen Visit Report: A Special Tea Experience in Higashisonogi Learning how tea is refined and funmatcha is made We visited Ikeda Chaen in Higashisonogi, Nagasaki Prefecture. This time, we guided overseas guests interested in tea processing and toured the tea-refining process. While we usually […]

Nagasaki Tea Promotion Tour in Europe: Jan-March 2026 8 weeks & 7 countries As ambassadors for the Nagasaki tea region, we love sharing stories from tea producers and their teas worldwide. Every year, Ikedoki Tea’s Marjolein heads to Europe for few weeks to visit different tea festivals […]

What Exactly Is Aracha: The Tea Behind the Tea If you’re ordering from us during our shincha promotion this year (2026), you may notice a little surprise tucked into your package: a sample of aracha. Most tea drinkers have never heard of it. In fact, aracha isn’t really meant for […]

We participated in tea picking at a tea plantation in Sotome, on May 2nd 2026. These fields were cultivated for over 17 years by Father de Rotz, a French Catholic missionary priest, who was assigned to the area in 1879 (Meiji 12). Beyond his missionary work, Father de Rotz sought practical ways to […]

Long before Japanese tea became famous around the world, one woman from Nagasaki helped introduce it to the global market Kei Oura (大浦 慶, 1828–1884) was a pioneering female merchant active from the late Edo period to the Meiji era. Born in Aburaya-machi in Nagasaki, she was the daughter of an oil […]

Just a few days before Christmas, the weather in Higashisonogi turned cold and we were lucky to receive a dusting of snow on the tea fields. A week prior we had a warm spell reaching up to 20ºC but within the span of 2 days it dropped down to freezing point. Apparently it’s quite rare for the […]

Lets break down the kanji (characters) for tamaryokucha first: 玉緑茶 (tamaryokucha) 玉 tama = ball, gem, (spherical) jewel緑 ryoku = green茶 cha = tea Just by looking at the characters for tamaryokucha, you immediately know that we are talking about a curly shaped green tea.The character 玉 can also be […]

How do I brew mizudashi (coldbrew) tamaryokucha? Tamaryokucha is perfect for 水出し (mizudashi) coldbrewing: highlighting not only its refreshing, sweet and vegetal taste but also the delightful enchanting green colour. The hot Japanese summer has inspired us to try out different tea coldbrew […]

Tamaryokucha (玉緑茶) is Sonogi tea region’s speciality. In Nagasaki, ‘ocha’ (お茶) which means ‘tea’ is automatically assumed to be tamaryokucha. Ocha in other regions of Japan will usually be assumed to be sencha (煎茶) as it is by far the most prevalent tea throughout the rest of Japan.  For our […]

How old is the longest-lived tea tree in Japan? The answer is over 300 years old! Currently, the longest tea tree in Japan is over 300 years old. This large tea tree is located at an altitude of 210 meters on the eastern slope of Mount Kokuzo, which straddles Higashisonogi Town in Nagasaki […]

Under our mission “Spread a peaceful world with Japanese tea”, we have 2 activities: Tea Tourism Online tea store Tea Tourism Join us to taste a selection of the local Sonogi tea specialties, including tamaryokucha (a curly shaped steamed green tea) which is this region’s speciality. Visit […]

Hidden Christians. It is a well-known term in Japan, but until recently it was almost unknown overseas. Christianity is widely practiced overseas, especially in the West, but in Japan, it was forbidden and suppressed for nearly 300 years until the advent of civilization. The term “hidden […]